With L.I. Murder Conviction Voided, the Same Old Question: Who Did It?
By BRUCE LAMBERT The same questions asked nearly two decades ago when Arlene and Seymour Tankleff were slashed and bludgeoned in their waterfront home on Long Island are being asked anew today: Who killed them, and why did the authorities fail to investigate Mr. Tankleff’s embittered business partner, Jerard Steuerman, as a possible suspect? The authorities focused instead on the Tankleffs’ son, Martin, who was 17 at the time of the 1988 murders. He was convicted in 1990 and has been imprisoned ever since, nearly half his life. But on Friday, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn overturned those verdicts and granted Mr. Tankleff a new trial. The court cited the “cumulative effect” of extensive new evidence gathered by his investigator accusing a band of ex-convicts of acting in concert with Mr. Steuerman. Mr. Tankleff, now 36, expects to be released on bail at the end of this week. The Suffolk County district attorney’s office says it may appeal the ruling, but wil
